Reichsburg Cochem

Reichsburg Cochem

A castle above the vines

Crowning a steep hill above the charming wine town of Cochem, on the winding river Moselle, the Reichsburg Cochem rises in a cluster of pointed turrets and high gables. With vineyards climbing the slopes below and the river curving past the town, it makes one of the prettiest scenes on the whole Moselle. It looks like the perfect medieval castle — though its story has a dramatic twist.

A medieval imperial castle

A castle was first built on the hill around the year 1000, and it became an imperial castle — a "Reichsburg" — holding an important position over the river and the trade and travel that passed along it. For a time it even served as a toll castle, where passing boats had to pay fees, a common and profitable role for castles on Germany's great rivers.

For centuries the castle guarded the town and the river, changing hands among various rulers as the fortunes of the region shifted.

Blown up by the French

The castle's medieval life came to a violent end in 1689. During a war with France, French troops captured Cochem and, as they did to many castles along the Rhine and Moselle, they blew the castle up with gunpowder to stop it being used against them. For nearly two hundred years afterwards, the proud castle lay in ruins on its hill.

A romantic rebirth

In 1868 a wealthy Berlin businessman named Louis Ravené bought the ruins and decided to rebuild the castle — not exactly as it had been, but as a romantic vision of a medieval castle, in the Gothic-revival style so popular in the 1800s. He added the pointed turrets, high gables and fairytale touches that give the castle its storybook look today.

So, like several other famous German castles, the Reichsburg Cochem is partly genuinely medieval and partly a 19th-century romantic dream — and all the more charming for it.

The Moselle's jewel

The castle is the crowning glory of Cochem, one of the most beautiful towns on the Moselle, famous for its wine, its half-timbered houses and its riverside setting. The whole valley, with its steep vineyards, winding river and many castles, is one of the loveliest in Germany.

Visiting today

Visitors can climb up to the castle from the town and tour its romantically furnished rooms, decorated in the style of a grand 19th-century vision of the Middle Ages, and enjoy wonderful views over Cochem, the vineyards and the river Moselle. Festivals and medieval-themed events bring extra life to the castle through the year. Picturesque, romantic and beautifully set above the vines, the Reichsburg Cochem is one of the highlights of the Moselle valley.